Rotary brush sweeper attachment for power vehicles



H. E. MILZ ET AL April 10, 1951 ROTARY BRUSH swEEPER ATTACHMENT FOR RowER VEHICLES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 26, 1945 and ENE m h April 10, 1951 H. E. MILZ EIAL 2,548,676

ROTARY BRUSH SWEEPER ATTACHMENT FOR POWER VEHICLES Filed Nov. 26, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS flarold 5 777512 and kfokn Jic77mDLJ7T Ap i 1951 H. E MILZ ET AL 2,548,576

ROTARY BRUSH SWEEPER ATTACHMENT FOR POWER VEHICLES Filed Nov. 26, 1945 3 SheetsSheet 3 INVENTORS Patented Apr. 10, 1951 ROTARY BRUSH SWEEPER ATTACHMENT FOR POWER VEHICLES Harold E. Milz and John J. Sichman, Jr., Chicago, Ill., assignors to The Mercury Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application November 26, 1945, Serial No. 630,783

2 Claims. 1

Our invention relates to a sweeper structure of the rotary broom or brush type for attachment to power vehicles for street sweeping purposes, and the invention concerns particularly improved mounting and control of the attachment.

An important object of the invention is to provide a supporting structure readily attachable to the front of a power vehicle for supporting the rotary broom or brush, and driving and control means therefor connectable with power takeofis and controls on the vehicle.

Another object is to mount the brush holding structure and its driving and setting means on the attachment so that during operation it will be balanced and no undue strain will be imposed at any time on the driving and control connections between the attachment and the power vehicle.

A further object-is to provide a rigid support structure having upper and lower comparatively with the vertical trunnion axis so that the brush supporting frame structure with the transmission means thereon may be readily rotated horizontally on the trunnion axis without straining of the driving connections with the vehicle.

A further object is to provide improved arrangement of hydraulically operated devices for controlling the lateral swing of the'brush structure and vertical swing of the, brush relative to the ground.

The above referred to and other features of the invention are embodied in the structure shown on the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the front part of a power vehicle and our improved attachment applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a side elevation; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged section on plane I'II--III Figure 1.

On the drawings, the fore part of a power vehiole I is shown which has secured thereto a supporting wall or apron comprising the inclined sides I l and the front wall l2, and extending from the apron are upper and lower similar bracket stnictures A and B. The upper bracket struc- 2 ture comprises side walls !3 secured at their inner ends against the sides of the inclined apron walls I I, as by welding, the side walls converging outwardly to receive between their ends a pivot block l4, secured thereto as by welding, a pivot cap l5 being provided for the block. A brace member l6 shown in the form of a length of channel bar extends between the walls l3 and is secured thereto as by welding.

The lower bracket B has the side walls I! secured at their inner ends to the apron sides H and at their converged outer ends being secured to a pivot block [8 for which a pivot cap l9 is provided, a brace member 2|] extending between the walls ll to be secured thereto as by welding. Vertical braces 2| extend between the walls I3 and I1 and are secured against the outer sides thereof, as by welding. v

The supporting structure for the rotary broom or brush 22 comprises a cross beam 23 shown in the form of a length of angle bar. On the beam at the ends thereof journal boxes 24 and '25 are mounted for a shaft 26 whose one end 26 is deflected forwardly at right angles and terminates in a journal box '2! for one end of the brush supporting shaft or axle 2 8. Secured to the other end of the shaft 26 just inside of the journal box 25 is a hub 29 from which extends the arm 30 terminating in a journal box 3| for the corresponding end of the brush shaft or axle. Just inside of the hub 29, a sprocket gear 32 is connected by a drive chain 33 with a sprocket gear 34 secured on the brush supporting shaft, the gear 32 being secured to the outer end of the tubular transmission shaft 89 through which the shaft 26 extends. A post 35 is secured to and extends upwardly from the end of the beam 23 and a brake spring 36 extends between the up- .per end of this post andthe arm 30, this spring taking up part of the weight of the brush to control its pressure engagement with the surface being swept.

Mounted on the cross wall N3 of the upper bracket A is a bearing sleeve 31 supporting in its ends antifriction bearings 38 for a drive shaft 39 which carries at its inner end a sprocket gear 40 connected by a drive chain 4| with a sprocket gear 42 on the outer end of a power takeoff shaft 43 connected through a transmission or clutch structure 44 with a power source in the vehicle, the bearing 45 for the shaft 43 being supported by the front wall 12 of the apron on the front of the vehicle.

Mounted by its base 46 on the beam 23 is a' forwardly inclined spacer tube 43 with an upper gear housing 49. A trunnion or pivot pin 50 is journaled by the pivot block 18 and cap [9 on the lower bracket B and is secured to the beam 23 as by welding of its head thereto. Extending rearwardly from the spacer tube 48 is a bracket 52 which supports the pivot or trunnion pin 53 which is journaled by the pivot block I4 and cap l5 in the upper bracket A. The beam 23 with the gear housing structure mounted thereon thus forms a unitary frame structure fulcrumed to the brackets A and B by the pins 59 and 53 for lateral swing thereof on the brackets.

The shaft 26 on which the brush 22 is supported extends through the gear housing 41 and the tubular transmission shaft 89 extends into the housing and is secured to the bevel gear I09 which is meshed by a bevel gear ill! on the lower end of the shaft 54 extending through the spacer tube 48. The shaft 54 extends into the housing 59 and mounts a miter gear 55 which meshes the miter pinion 56 of the shaft 51 journaled in a bearing 58 supported by the rear wall of the housing 49, the axes of the shafts 39 and 5'! being in a common horizontal plane. A double universal coupling C connects the outer end of the shaft 39 with the outer end of the shaft 51. The vertical axis line of this coupling coincides with the vertical axis line of the trunnion pins 50 and 53, these axis lines being in the vertical lane of the axis of shaft 26. With this arr-engement of the various driving parts, the unitary frame structure, comprising the beam 23 and brush structure thereon and the gearing housing and driving shafts therein, may be freely and easily rotated on the trunnion pin axis in perfect balance at all times during service of the sweeper without imposing any strain on the driving connections from the vehicle power devices.

At opposite sides of the fulcrum connection of the beam 23 with the lower bracket B, pivot brackets 59 and 60 are provided on the beam 23, and on the opposite side walls ll of the apron brackets BI and 62 are mounted. Pivoted to the bracket 6! is a hydraulic cylinder 63 whose piston 64 is pivoted to the bracket 59 on the beam 23. A hydraulic cylinder 65 is pivoted to the bracket 62 and its piston 66 is pivoted to the bracket 60 on the beam 23. The cylinders have suitable inlets 61 for the introduction of hydraulic fluid from a suitable source within the vehicle so that through these hydraulic connections the beam 23 may be rotated in desired direction for setting of the brush 22 at the desired sweeping angle in front of the vehicle, one such angular position being shown by the dotted lines of Figure l.

Extending rearwardly from the bracket 52 which supports the pivot pin 53 is an arm 68 connected with the piston 69 of a hydraulic cylinder which is connected with the inner end of the lifting arm H adjustably secured to the shaft 26 by a clamp 12. A supply conductor 13 extends from the cylinder 19 to a suitable control 14 on the vehicle for hydraulic fluid flow for raising or lowering of the brush. Another control is provided for flow of hydraulic fluid for the cylinders 63 and 65 for swinging or slewing of the brush to the right or the left, a fluid directioning four-way valve 16 being provided for co-operating with the controls 14 and 15. A control lever TI is provided for the transmission or clutch 44 for controlling the rotation of the brush. Thus, while the sweeper is in service, the driver may readily operate the various controls for the desired operation of the brush.

On sweeping jobs, where the brush is to be held in a certain horizontal setting for an extended period of time, it may be desirable to positively lock the supporting beam 23 in set position independently of the hydraulic devices or cylinders 63, 65. For such positive locking, an arm 18 is secured to the beam 23 as by welding thereto adjacent to the pivot pin 59, with the arm extending rearwardly for engagement along the top of a cross plate 19 secured to the side braces 2| of the brackets A and B. The arm has the hole 89 for receiving a locking pin BI, and the cross plate 19 and the cross channel 29 between the sides of the bracket B have a row of holes 82 therethrough, this row of holes being in an arc whose center is the pivot pin 59. The lock pin may thus be inserted through the center holes for positively holding the beam 23 and the broom in the normal or central position shown in full lines on Figure l, or the pin may be applied through other holes for locking the beam 23 and the broom at a desired angle. When the vehicle travels from one job to another the lock pin may be used to lock the brush in its normal or central position and the hydraulic device or cylinder 19 is set for holding the brush lifted up off the ground. When the slewing of the brush is to be controlled hydraulically the lock pin will of course be withdrawn.

Briefly describing the double universal coupling C, it comprises the H-shaped body 83 having sleeves 84 and 85 journaled between its ends as by bolts 86, the coupling head 81 on the shaft 39 receiving the sleeve 84 and being pivoted thereto, and the coupling head 88 on the shaft Tl receiving the sleeve 85 and being pivoted thereto.

We have thus produced an efficient sweeper attachment for vehicles on which a unitary assembly comprising a broom support and its driving transmission mechanism is pivoted for swing on a vertical axis by widely spaced apart pivot connections, and with the double universal coupling between the transmission mechanism and the power takeoff drive located with its vertical axis coinciding with the axis of the pivot connections so that the brush may be rotated with uniform velocity and the unitary assembly may be swung to and operated in various positions without straining the driving mechanism at any time, the control of such swing being accomplished hydraulically.

We have shown a practical and efficient embodiment of the various features of our invention, but we do not desire to be limited to the exact construction, arrangement or operation shown and described, as changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. A sweeper attachment for a power vehicle comprising a pair of vertically spaced V-shaped brackets adapted to be assembled on a power vehicle, each of said brackets having pivot bearing means in the apex thereof in vertical alignment with one another thereby to form a vertical pivot axis, a frame support carried by said pivot bearing means for oscillatory movement on a horizontal plane including a cross beam member extending transversely of said brackets, a shaft mounted on said cross beam provided with means extending forwardly on the respective ends thereof, said forwardly extending portions of said shaft having journaling means arranged and aligned on a common axis parallel to said cross beam and in front of said frame sup-port, mounting means for said shaft on said cross beam including elements to support said shaft for rotative adjustment, whereby said journaling means may be substantially vertically adjusted, a brush rotatably carried by said journaling means, said frame support further including a first gear box on said cross beam and intersected by said vertical pivot axis, a rotatable power take-01f shaft extending outwardly of said gear box, a' driving connection between said take-on shaft and said brush, said frame support also including a second gear box positioned forwardly of said vertical pivot axis and upwardly of said first gear box, driving means connecting said gear boxes, power transmission shaft means supported by the uppermost of said pair of V-shaped brackets including a double universal joint arranged to be intersected by said vertical pivot axis and extending rearwardly of said second gear box, whereby the brush mechanism together with its driving means may be angularly displaced and means to rotatively adjust said shaft to vertically position said brush, including a lifting arm connected atone end to said shaft and pivotally connected at the other end to a hydraulic adjusting mechanism carried by said frame support.

2. A sweeper attachment as defined in claim 1 and a pair of hydraulic adjusting units extending between spaced apart points on said cross 6 beam and said V-shaped brackets on opposite sides of said vertical pivot axis, whereby said brush may be selectively angularly shifted hydraulically.

HAROLD E. MILZ.

JOHN J. SICHMAN, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 683,413 Reynolds Sept. 24, 1901 1,648,056 Otwell Nov. 8, 1927 1,846,507 Boring Feb. 23, 1932 1,904,881 Presbrey Apr. 18, 1933 2,199,703 Hough May 7, 1940 2,212,677 Wagner Aug. 27, 1940 2,235,277 Bradley Mar. 18, 1941 2,248,012 Phillips July 1, 1941 2,251,523 Patterson Aug. 5, 1941 2,259,632 Grace Oct. 21, 1941 2,286,245 Wilson June 16, 1942 2,313,412 Wells 1 Mar. 9, 1943 2,330,025 Bentley Sept. 21, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 329,599 Germany Dec. 21, 1920 Sweden Nov. 14, 1939 

